In December 2025, the latest version of the Spanish language dictionary was presented. In it, the Real Academia Española (RAE) sticks to its thesis: the word algorithm comes from the Arabic ḥisāb al-ġubār – calculating with Arabic numerals. A study by van-Helsing.ai proves the RAE right.
Overview of the study ‘The Odyssey from Algorizmi to Algorithm’ as a PDF (seven pages).
The report by van-helsing.ai examined over 50 historical sources. The result confirms the RAE’s thesis. However, the attribution to al-Ḫwārizmī proves to be a speculative retrojection from the 19th century. Below are six important sections of the content.
Yuval Noah Harari describes “algorithm” as one of the central concepts of our time. In
In lexicons, encyclopedias, and specialist literature, the explanation still dominates that the word algorithm arose
Thesis A examines whether the RAE’s (Real Academia Española) alternative derivation can be reconstructed -
Thesis B tests whether the RAE idea from Thesis A can be found in medieval
Thesis C examines when the now-dominant al-Ḫwārizmī narrative emerged. What is established is that it
At the end of the analysis, an overall conclusion is drawn: all three theses—(A the
